Saturday, March 04, 2006

Bible verse of the day

2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
Proverbs 29: verses 2 and 3
King James Version

Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy name to sing,
Help us to praise;
Father! all-glorious,
O'er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.
Come, Thou Almighty King (v1), AUTHOR UNKNOWN Posted by Picasa

Rest in Peace Jack Wild


Ok I have sad news. I am really behind on this one but I just found out that Jack Wild, the star of Oliver, H.R. Pufnstuf and Robin Hood:Prince of Theives, has passed away. He died of cancer. He was 53 years old. To fans of H.R. Pufnstuf this is almost like hearing that John Lennon died. I have not heard any of the TV networks, which is where I usually get my news, report it. I did get a hint of it from Mark Evanier. Thanks Mark! In researching his death I found more on this site. I remember in the early 70's seeing him on a show promoting his new single "Some Beautiful." He was being chase around by girls while singing the song. No matter if he was running, driving or riding a bike he was just barely ahead of all those women and the entourage kept growing. I always laughed at H. R. Pufnstuf and loved his singing on that show and in Oliver. I don't recall his part in Robin Hood but will watch for him next time I see the movie. Mr. Wild bought fun, laugther, and music to all though his profession. To Jack Wild. We all did find a friend in you. One that surely will endure. Posted by Picasa

Cool Photo

Just thought this was a cool photo of Jack Wild. Must have been taken when they were just starting up H.R. Pufnstuf. Posted by Picasa

Billy Jack

Recently I was over at Booksteve’s Library and saw he had this posting about Cissy Colpits who sometimes goes by the name of Cisse Cameron. This got me to thinking about the movie Billy Jack as his posting mentioned that she was a co-star in that film. I saw the movie when it first came out and didn’t remember anyone by either of her names in the film. I did research on the internet to see what part she played. It wasn’t hard to find the cast list on Imdb.com. She was listed in the cast as playing “Miss False Eyelashes.”
This was definitely a film from a 1960’s point of view as Billy Jack was a pacifist who only gets violent when he sees racial injustice. All that to me is understandable. I am not here to talk about the politics of the film. I want this site to be free of politics. I am here to give a 10 year olds review of the film, at least as much of a review of the film that I saw and remember. The film was definitely made with adults in mind. I found it boring. The only time that it entertained me was during any fight scene. Even then to my young eyes it seemed staged. Adam West fighting Frank Gorshin on Batman had better fight scenes. Tom Laughlin, who played Billy Jack, was an Indian in the film. I didn’t think he even looked like and Indian. However, in my internet research I found some dialogue from the film where Billy Jack said that being an Indian isn’t just by birth, it’s a way of life. I guess that is why he was always being called an Indian even though he didn’t look like one.
As I said before I can only review what I saw or remember. I only saw about half of the movie. Remember I was 10 and with my Mom and Dad. I think it was at the Madison Theatre in Covington, Ky where we saw the film. My Mom and Dad had no problem with getting up and walking out of movie if they saw anything they objected to. Up came a nude scene with the female leading actress. My Mom and Dad stood up and took their 10 year old son and we left the theatre. I have no idea what happened from that point on. This was a movie with adults only in mind. As a kid I found it boring. Perhaps now that I am an adult if I see it on network TV (hopefully minus the nude scene) I will find it more entertaining and still get the message that it was trying to send.
The above photo of the movie poster I got from this auction site. Posted by Picasa

Friday, March 03, 2006

Sergio Aragones Massacres Marvel

The things you find when you are looking through boxes in your basement. I came across this earlier this week. I don't remember the story so I re-read it. It is pretty good. Now this book was put out in 1996. Since it is 10 years old I figure that no spoiler warning is needed. However, if you have not read it and want to then stop reading now. Get off the internet. Turn off your computer and go to your nearest comic book shop to see if they have it in their back issue bin.
Why they did this book I don't know. Perhaps Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe was a bigger seller then expected. The book is drawn by Sergio but written by Mark Evanier. They have arrived in New York to sell their new comic book idea to Marvel. However, when they arrive none of the staff are in the office. Sergio wants to know where is Stan Lee, Steve Ditko or Jack Kirby. Mark says that's what I like about you Sergio. You're always so up to date.
While waiting Mark decides to look into some newsgroups on the internet. Sergio happens to see a notice on the board that says if all the books aren't caught up and on time everyone will be fired. Wanting to be nice and helpful Sergio decides to finish all the books. He tries to improve them by connecting them all with the heros all fighting the same enemy he calls the Seagoing Soarer. He takes over the oceans by freezing him in water. Next he takes on the Fantastic Four where the running joke is how everyone quits the group. Including heros who were never in the group to begin with. Then it is on to Spider-Man who recaps his origin because it has been months since he has done it and it always cheers him up. Doc Ock helps him kidnap Spidey. Then it is off the Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange. The good Dr. isn't in it for long as Galactus is comming and there won't be enough room on the page for all three of them. You see it is in Galactus' contract to get a full page on his arrival. It keeps going on like this till they figure out who can stop the Seagoing Soarer. The Hulk grabs Sergio by his hand and drags him into the comic book. Soon it is revealed that the identity of the Seagoing Soarer is...Sergio Aragones. You see if you change the letters around Sergio Aragones spells Seagoing Soarer. The Soarer wants total newstand domination. To stop him Sergio convinces him to let him draw his comic book. When the executives at Marvel see it they say the art is too silly and the figures are almost in proportion. It will never sell. His life now meaningless the Soarer now melts away.
Mark finds out that he dreamed it all. However, he sees that Sergio did try to get the books on time. It turns out that the staff was out to lunch when they arrived at the office and the memo was just a joke. When they see what Sergio did to the books they are not happy and chase them out of the building. After that treatment Sergio says he will never draw for them. Not even if they offer money. Mark tells him of his dream and Sergio doesn't believe it. He says Marvel won't print it even if he draws it.
As you can see I enjoyed the book and suggest you get a copy. Posted by Picasa

Happy Birthday Mark Evanier

Just heard that yesterday was Mr. Evanier's birthday. So here is a belated Happy Birthday to you Mark. Hope you had a happy one. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Stan the man Lee autographed photo

When I was looking through an old issue of Captain America from 1968 I came across this advertisment. I was only 7 at the time so the only thing that mattered to me was if Cap beat the bad guys. I use to collect autographs and would like to have one by Stan Lee. However, back then he was a relative unknown outside the comic book world. Comics, while being written for adults by that time, were still being looked on as for kids. So if those kids were like me and only cared who won the fight I wonder who it was that was nagging Marvel for an autographed photo of Mr. Lee? Posted by Picasa

Old comic book ads

By the time the 1970's rolled around comic books had a bigger audience then 10 year old boys. Now high school and College age men were reading them as the art and writing had vastly improved. So the sales department were now allowed to take ads from a wider range of clients. This made the ads almost as interesting to read as the stories themselves. Usually the ads ranged from cupcakes to toys to sea monkeys. Sometimes ads like the one above appeared for, of all things, fake mustaches and sideburns. They usually had full page and half page ads. I couldn't find any of them. I did find this small corner ad in a copy of Captain America #106 and on this site. I once heard a rumor that Stan Lee had a hard time growing facial hair. So he gave this company free advertising space in exchange for letting him have his fake hairpieces for free. He supposedly wore them till the real hair grew in. I don't know if it is true but it is a good story. Posted by Picasa

McGavin/Knotts Retraction

While everyone else probably knows this by now I feel I should retract what I said earlier. I posted that Darren McGavin and Don Knotts died on the same day. I just found out that Mr. Knotts died on Friday and Mr. McGavin died on Saturday. I heard about both of them at the same time and so I thought they died the same day. Sorry about that. Above is Mr. McGavin from his other 1960's show The Outsider. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Don Knotts TV Guide

As a fan of TV and having grown up as part of the TV generation I have an affection for TV Guide. Almost as strong as my feelings for comic books. I used to sell TV Guide door to door and put them in local Mom and Pop shops to earn spending money when I was a kid. I always loved seeing the Fall Preview issues. When I went to college I majored in Radio, Television and Film production. My dream then as now was to be a TV or movie producer. I would always read the Fall preview issues and try to estimate which shows would last that year just by what I read and where I saw it on the schedule. So my love for the magaxine is deep and hase significant connections to my life. It's recent changes in its size and format I find interesting.
It is now more of a magazine like People with TV schedules. That is fine by me as I still find it entertaning and informative of the medium. Above I have put up an early 60's cover of TV Guide with Don Knotts for any who want to see. Posted by Picasa

Darren McGavin of Riverboat

Seeing the coverage that Don Knotts and Dennis Weaver were getting I sort of like felt sorry for Darren McGavin. Just as long a career in the business and he was getting overshadowed. I was reminded of the show Riverboat. He starred in it with Burt Reynolds. It ran for 2 years in the early 1960's. I read that he and Mr. Reynolds didn't get along and that was why Burt was only on the show for 1 year. Two actors on the same show that didn't get along. Well that's rare isn't it? This is the only TV Guide cover from the series run. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Dennis Weaver in Gentle Ben

For those of you who aren't familiar with the TV show Gentle Ben here is a 1968 cover of the issue of TV Guide that most of the cast appears on. I got if from this auction. It starred Dennis Weaver as wildlife officer Tom Wedloe. Clint Howard was his son Mark and Beth Brickell his wife Ellen. Rance Howard, Clint's real life Dad, played Henry Boomhauer. He was a friend of Tom's. They lived in the Florida everglades. Ben was the friendly and lovable 600 pound black bear that Mark Wedloe befriended. It was the Florida version of Lassie. Mark always getting into trouble. Then his Dad and Ben would get him out. It was a bit unbelieveable. No matter how gentle a bear Ben was I would not let my son pal around with him. Still it was fun family adventure and ran from 1967 to 1969. Then next year Mr. Weaver was cast in the show where he found his signature character Marshal Sam McCloud. You can read more about it at Booksteve's Library. I didn't know he enjoyed the show so much. Posted by Picasa

Rest in Peace Dennis Weaver

They say it happens in 3's and I guess that is true as I just heard another of my favorite actors died. Dennis Weaver. Most will remember him for Gunsmoke, McCloud, Steve Speilberg's first made for TV movie Duel. The above photo is from the DVD of Duel. Most people will forget another TV show that kids loved. Gentle Ben. It starred him Clint Howard and a bear named Ben. The show was a hit in the 60's. Mr. Weaver is in an elite class of tv actors. He starred or co-starred in 3 hit shows. In the past year I even saw him in the show Wildfire. So since he was still active the news of his death came as a shock to me. Rest in Peace Dennis Weaver. Posted by Picasa

Monday, February 27, 2006

Happy Anniversary Spider-Man

This is a belated happy anniversary to Spider-Man, Stan Lee and to King Features Syndicate. Jan. 3rd was the 29th anniversary of the Spider-Man newspaper strip. I recently was reminded that it started in newspapers on that date in 1977. No adventure strip had been in the papers for quite some time. So it was a gamble if Spidey would be a success in this format. He was and Stan Lee has been the writer of it from day one. He didn't have to face a burgler his first time out on this adventure. Spider-Man hit the ground running facing Dr. Doom. The Newspaper strip also broke new ground in being the first cross over strip with a comic book in the storyline where Peter and Mary Jane were married. Due to copyright laws I was not able to use the newspaper strip but if you want to see recent ones you can click on the king features name above. Happy Anniversay to all and hopefully I won't miss the big 30th next year. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Today's Bible verse

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Proverbs 11:14
King James Version Posted by Picasa

The Superhero Catalogue

It's amazing the stuff you store away in your basement and forget about. I went through a box in my basement yesterday and found more books and magazines I thought I sold or threw away. Thankfully I didn't do either. This one was a surprise. The Superhero Catalogue from Superhero Enterprises of Dover, NJ. The editor was Joe Kubert and art was by him and his students. It was a mail order catalogue. The only way they could have gotten your address was if you ordered from them from a comic book ad or perhaps they got it off a mailing list. The catalogue contained everything that you could hope to buy that was related to superheros back in 1977. I was 16 that summer and just got my driver's license. Most of my money was going for gas to get to my part-time job. So I didn't buy anything from this catalogue. Strange isn't it. It has been 29 years and the only difference is that now most of my money goes to gas to get me to my full time job. Posted by Picasa

Don Knotts of the Movies

Over at Booksteve's Library he has an good post of Don Knotts the movie star. In it he talks about my favorite Knotts film and his "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." I don't have a picture of that film to use here but the one I do have is almost as funny. "How To Frame A Figg" is about Don Knotts character finds that something crooked is going on at City Hall. He tells the Mayor but he is in on it. The try to bribe him with a big office and a company car. He can't be bought off and goes after the crooked officals himself. It has a great supporting cast with Joe Flynn, Yvonne (Batgirl) Craig and Frank Welker. It is directed by Alan Rafkin who went on to sit-com directing fame. Posted by Picasa

Rest In Peace Don Knotts and Darren McGavin

I was just over at News From ME and saw that both Don Knotts and Darren McGavin passed away yesterday. I have been fans of both for years. I was not shocked to hear about Mr. McGavin as he has been known to be in bad health for sometime now. Of course as readers of this blog know I became a fan of his with his preformance in "The Night Stalker." Later he won more fans when he played in the now annual holiday favorite "A Christmas Story." Later he appeared in and episode of "The X-Files" as a tip of the porkpie hat to "The Night Stalker" as it was the inspiration for the X-Files. Here is his authorized site.
I never met Mr. McGavin but I did meet Don Knotts. He was in Cincinnati years ago and had the stage all to himself. He answered questions about "The Andy Griffith Show", "Three's Company" and " The Incredible Mr. Limpet." I remember him being surprised at being reminded that Barney and Andy were more then just friends. In the first episode of the show Barney called him cousin Andy. Barney and Andy were cousins. Hey it had been along time I am sure some of the fans forgot that little bit of information. He said that he heard at that time that Jim Carrey was doing a remake of " The Incredible Mr. Limpet" and he was going to let them know he wanted a part in the film. Saddly that film remake was never made. Later, he signed autographs and gave everyone a handshake and a big smile. In the 60's Mr. Knotts made some very funny movies. The above photo is from the DVD "How To Frame A Figg." Later he did movies with his friend Tim Conway. Movies like "The Apple Dumpling Gang" "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" and "The Private Eyes." However, he will always be remember for his television work. Mostly as Barney Fife. Some will remember him as Mr. Furley. Others will remember when he joined the cast of "Matlock" to be with his friend Andy Griffith. Fred Hembeck and I remember his self titled variety show. It wasn't on very long but it was very good. My favorite part was when they acknowledge the Mayberry show by having Don sit on a set designed like a front porch with that weeks guest for a small interview. Of course the one I rember the best is when the guest was Andy.
It is somewhat ironic that both men died on the same day. Both are famous for playing a character that was, in their minds, trapped in an enviorment they wanted to excape. Barney Fife was a small town boy who wanted to make the big time by going from small town cop to a city detective. Carl Kolchak wanted to stop writing for small newspapers and make it back to New York and write for the Times. While Barney did become a detctive Carl still wrote for tabloids. However, both characters functioned at their best in the the enviroment they wanted to escape. Barney didn't do that well as a detective. In one episode he would have lost his job if Andy hadn't helped him solve a big case. Carl could have made it as a reporter at the Times but he would have just been a regular reporter. At that Hollywood Disptach he was the star. Perhaps we should all remember that when we wish for a better life. God put us here for a reason. We need to bloom where we are planted. Posted by Picasa